Congratulations to Eric Escobar and Renee. The movie has been awardedan Honorable Mention in Shorts Filmmaking by the Shorts Jury at the Sundance Film Festival - how cool is that!many thanks to Ross from the Texas Merpups for the news

Added review for Season 1 Episode 5: The Path Not Taken by SLKXena's plan to prevent a war by rescuing a kidnapped princess brings her
back into contact with murderers and mercenaries from her dark past.

Blood Bond by DThis is an incredible epic love story - set after the events of FIN. It's the story of a quest, of a longing, of a desire to find Xena and Xena's quest to find Gabrielle. A magnificent story, well written that will keep you riveted to your seat (or in my case with my airline seatbelt fastened securley and the chair in the reclining position). We follow Gabrielle's journey as well as Xena's as they try and reunite. D has interwoven history throughout this story which for me as a history nut was incredible. Sit back and enjoy; this is a looooong story - it took me 12 hours on the flight from Oz to LA and LA to Oz to finish this baby. To borrow Lunacy's trademark...VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Updated Lucy filmography with upcoming telemovie "Locusts" that Lucy will be doing for CBS. Lucy's role is Secretary for Agriculture. Lucy hasn't signed yet and
was approached to do the movie while in Bangladesh for World Vision and agreed.

I created two new pieces for the Creation Art Auction for the Convention. Thank you to everyone who stopped to tell me they enjoyed the pieces, I had lots of fun creating them. The third piece was
Melt Into Me which was already on the site

Well, that was one hell of a weekend, wasn't it? Out of the weird and wacky mind of Lucy Lawless, we got Lucy and Renee popping out of an anniversary cake in their go-go bikini outfits from "Lyre,
Lyre"! And Renee showed up for her photo ops in the wedding gown from "Married With Fishsticks." Rob Tapert and Chris Manheim should take that comedy routine of theirs on the road. They had so much fun on stage
together. All the guests were just phenomenal and fun and giving and filled with the joy they had working on the show.

I'd love to be able to pass along your thoughts -- especially to Lucy and Renee. They were a little worried that their idea of fun might be a tad crazy. You'd think they'd know us better by now <G> So if you'd like to
send along notes about their performance and the performances of the other guests -- don't forget the puppets! -- I'll print them all out and send them along.

NCIS (Naval Crime Investigation Service) Monday, Kate
and Abby had a rapidfire discussion about female superheroes, some of
which included Wonder Woman. Then Kate said that for her the one who
tops them all was Xena. | Thanks to Norma for catching this.

Xena Convention Update:
From Sharon Delaney: Tonight Show
filming at Xena 10th Anniversary Convention on Friday from 12 - 3pm. If
you were thinking of wearing a costume, you might make it on camera!Boogeymanmentioned in Rocky Mountain News - Denver,CO
[...] Boogeyman, a
spook-fest from Sam Raimi's production company, is due out next
month. [...] Source

[...] Meg
McDermott (Reneé O'Connor) is a busy
single mom juggling time spent
in the National Guard and time spent caring for her two young children.
The film begins on a typical crazy Monday morning as Meg gets her
children ready for school. She receives a phone call that changes her
life. A friend informs her that her National Guard unit will be
activated for duty in Iraq in two weeks. This begins the ride that is
the film. We witness Meg unravel as she struggles through a series of
phone calls to figure out who will take care of her children. She
cannot
turn to her friends, the fathers of her children or her mother. What
will she do?

One Weekend A
Month attracted actress Reneé O'Connor best known
for her
co-starring role on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess. The
film has an original soundtrack written and performed by Emily Saliers,
one-half of the legendary folk-rock duo, "The Indigo Girls." | Full
article

Thanks
to Barbara for the info.

From Sci-Fi Wire - Takashi
Shimizu, who helmed The Grudge, will return to direct the sequel for
producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Variety reported. | Thanks to MET
for the info.

14 January

This will be my last update for a couple
of weeks. While I'm away Mesh will be taking care of the baby <g>
I'll be attending the 10th Anniversary Xena Convention. Mesh will also
be away for the convention weekend. We will be popping in to update
those not attending the con on what's been going on. To all those going
to the con, safe travelling. To those not going to the con, reports and
pictures will be online soon after.

For the very first time, RENEE O'CONNOR
will be doing photo ops at The Official Xena Convention (next weekend)
in Burbank! The photo ops will be done Sunday January 23, 2005.

Please note that these are available in
LIMITED SUPPLY and may sell out at any time! Please visit us online to
place your order for your exclusive full color 8 by 10 photo
opportunity with RENEE O'CONNOR!

The Tuscon Citizen 13 January 2005 “Elektra” leads a resurgence of female
superheroes, giving women someone to cheer for.Xena ExcerptSurely, nobody has forgotten Xena and her close pal
Gabrielle. Plans are still afoot in L.A. to bring Lucy Lawless and
Renee O'Conner to the big screen in the same roles they made famous on
television. Every pop culture analyst and movie reviewer (including me)
will be eager to see what changes have been wrought in the relationship
between these two since the mid-1990s.Click
here to read full article

And here's another example of a
Xena themed cake...I think I may start a new section in Xena Xena
Everywhere for this <g>

The birthday girl in question is Norma. Many thanks
Norma for passing this on.

Alexandra Billings is one of the actresses that
starred in the Chicago plays Xena Live! I and II. Alex played Xena in
Xena Live I and a sorceress in Live II. Alex guest stars on ER tomorrow
Jan 13, 05 at 10pm est on NBC. Many thanks to Jackie for the news

Lucy VCR Alert (US)

Bernie Mac ShowLucy will be on the Bernie Mac Show (It's a repeat)
Episode: Keep it on the Short Grass, Episode 201: Bernie creates a
public relations disaster while facing off with Matt Damon and Lucy
Lawless in a charity golf tournament.21 January 2005 - please check the time in your areaMany thanks to Cassie for the news

Gold Ticket is
looking for a new home - if anyone is interested in seat D5
and would like a gold ticket - email Jan on jmick@kih.net
- ticket price is negotiable. The ticket includes the cabaret, the
charity breakfast and the sundae event so it's a full weekend for sure.

Xena Tattoo Contest at 2005 Xena 10th
Anniversary Convention

If you've been to any of our Xena
conventions, you may have noticed there are some incredible tattoos on
some of the attendees. We've decided to have a Tattoo Contest!

1. You take a photo of your tattoo and bring it with you to the
convention.
2. We post them near registration with a sheet of paper underneath for
people
to check off which one they like best.
3. At the end of day, we'll tally the votes to find the winner.
4. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate.
5. It will only be for people who are attending the convention.

1. Sandra Kurt and her girlfriend got married in
September and
2. The wedding cake was Xena inspired - not sure if this should go
under the Xena Xena Everywhere section :) Does it? Click on the
thumbnails for the larger scans

Okay free plug to Linda's Kitchen of Tallmadge, Ohio,
USA. Sandra provided the action figures, and instructed them how
they wanted the chakram designs. Linda's Kitchen suggested the
armband scrolls on the vertical surfaces of the cake.

The following is from Ellen - Xena
Scripts (some autographed) now on ebay
Portions of the sales will be donated to the Tsunami Relief Appeal

I listed 20 scripts and
they include all of the episodes from Season 6 except the 2 finale
episodes FIN I and II. Some haveautographs.
They are authentic production scripts that came from
someone who worked for Renaissance pictures, so they are the real thing
(unlike many sellers on eBay who sell copies of the same scripts over
and over).

Most of the scripts are
really early versions of the scripts, making for some
very interesting reading. It's fun to see how the scripts evolved
into what we saw as the final product.

The auctions are shorter than usual so
that I can mail them to you all in time for the upcoming Xena
convention so you can add some autographs to the scripts. The auctions
end on Thurs. evening (1/13) at 6pm PST. The people for
autographs at the convention, meaning those that have not yet
signed the scripts and who will be at the convention are:

Roger Morrissey (monster
Grinhilda) - The Rheingold, The Ring and Return of the Valkyrie

* Alexis Arquette (Caligula) - The God
You Know and You Are There

* Ted Raimi (Joxer/Barnabus? in WFC) -
When Fates Collide

I still have 3 scripts I haven't listed
yet. They include 2 other different versions of When Fates
Collide and Altered States from Season 1. I hope to get those on
eBay later Mon. The 2 different versions of When Fates Collide are very
interesting....be sure and read those auctions as I will have some cool
details in there.

A lot of the scripts are white and are
not showing up well. I'm going to re-scan the white scripts tomorrow so
hopefully that will help.

Here's a really important note. I
will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Tsunami disaster
relief funds (the Red Cross and Unicef). I think this is a really
important thing for us all to be doing right now as we are able, so the
more you bid the more you will be contributing to these essential
organizations that need so much of our help right now.

TV Show: Desperate Housewives - Episode: "Move On" 2005
Gabrielle, (played by Eva Longoria)is a model looking for work. An agent asks her if she can swing a sword. When she aks, "Swing a sword?"
"A sci-fi convention is looking for someone to play a warrior princess."
Contributed by T. Novan, Amy Tucker, Amy Z, Contezza

Added article and scans from New Idea - 30 October 1999 - And Baby Makes Four. For die-hard Xena fans the wait
is finally over. The star of the cult TV show, stunning Lucy Lawless, has given birth to a bouncing baby boy and couldn't be happier. Baby Julius Robert Bay Tapert was born in Auckland on Saturday October 16.

Added brief article and scan from NZ Woman's Day - 26 April 1999
We all love Lucy Lawless, and now there's more reason to love - the Warrior Princess and hubby Rob Tapert are expecting a new recruit to their ranks.

Woman's Weekly - 11 October 1999 - Flawless Knit, New Zealanders have watched with
pride as their very own princess has achieved fame and fortune abroad and married the man of her dreams. But, in 1983, she was just another pretty face in a knitwear advertisement. Yes, Lucy Lawless was
a Shepherd wool girl.

Region 2/4 (UK / Australia / New Zealand). The entire series has been released in one boxed set with all 134 episodes. No extras, no interviews - just the episodes.
Price ₤216.99 - $536.20 (AUD) - $584.74 (NZD)Click here to order

Woman's Weekly 5 February 2001 article and scan of
Lucy with young patient. Kiwi charities have relied on celebrities to help their
causes for decades but how would they fare if networks pulled the plug? Celebrities have
been fronting good causes in New Zealand for decades but that might be about to change
after one network has been forced to re-think its policy.

Updated Peach / Bitter Song DVD movie section with news for Australian fans. Out Video in Melbourne has the Lesbian Romance DVD with these two Lucy movies for Region 4 / PAL -
available both in VHS and DVD. If you live in Melbourne, you can also rent them.

6
January

Message from Sword and Staff:

It has been a while since we've conducted a Sword and Staff
charity auction, but there will be at least two auctions coming up soon.

The first auction will be posted up soon and will benefit Save the Children to benefit the victims of the tsunami that devasted parts of southeast Asia. I still have a large number of Xena-related items in my possession,
and I will be photographing them and posting them up as soon as I can. All proceeds from the auction will go directly to Save the Children, and will be earmarked for relief of children and families in southeast Asia. I
will post information on when the auction will take place this week, so please keep an eye out for that. Anyone who would like to donate merchandise for this auction (Xena or any other genre), please contact me at
MistNY@aol.com as soon as possible and let me know what you have to donate.

If you want to make a donation to Save the Children you can do so directly online at www.savethechildren.org Or you can send a check or money order payable to SAVE THE CHILDREN to Sword and Staff, P.O. Box 224, Floral
Park, NY 11002 and I will forward your donations as part of the Sword and Staff effort.

There is a second auction in the making. I had planned to do that one in January, but given the urgent need of the earthquake and tsunami victims, I'm going to put that off for about a month or so. That one was announced
a while ago as "Color Me Caring." It's a really great collection of beanie toys that have been decorated by many cast and crew from Xena, Hercules, and Lord of the Rings. That auction will benefit both the Starship
Foundation and The Kevin Smith Trust Fund.

As I said, it's been a while since we've done anything in terms of Sword and Staff auctions or donation drives, but I know that this fanbase is an awesome force when we put our minds to doing something. I hope we can
once again combine our efforts to make a difference in the world. Any questions, please let me know.

If anyone is interested in helping - please send a donation to any of the charity
organisations (Red Cross/ Red Crescent, Oxfam, Americares, Unicef, Network for Good etc) that are raising money for the Tsunami survivors. First one to contact me will get the entire 1-8 kits (please include a receipt
number of your donation).

The kits will be mailed from the US. It has been contributed by an anonymous Xenite to aid those who have suffered greatly. The kits contain newsletters, photos, the whole works.

Screen Gems has launched the official website for Ghost House Pictures'
Boogeyman, which enters theaters on February 4th.

The new site has some great features including fan-submitted stories about the Boogeyman, the origins of the legend, a "Count to Five" game in which you must unscramble the letters before the Boogeyman gets you, as
well as an "Escape the Boogeyman" game in which you must escape the house. The site also has
movie info, photos, downloads, and media.

In the Blood of the Greeks by Mary D. BrooksThis is the new book cover for my book "In the Blood of the Greeks" which is due out later this month. The cover was designed by Linda "Calli" Callaghan

This version of ITBOTG is completely revised from the first
version which was published as Out of Darkness. Out of Darkness contained two stories - In the Blood of the Greeks and Land of Milk and Honey. This version contains one story - In the Blood of the Greeks. This revised
edition has extra chapters which weren't in the first version and not available online. The beta version is available to read from my Eva and Zoe
site. The story "Land of Milk and Honey" will be published later in the year.

For those going to the Xena con in Burbank - you can pre-order a copy from the Cavalier Press vendor stand